By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
JACKSONVILLE – The Springville Lady Tigers took on the Arab Lady Knights in sweet sixteen action on Friday morning on the campus of Jacksonville State University for the right to advance to the next round of the 5A State Championship Tournament and to call themselves one of the elite eight teams in the state at that level. The Lady Knights would prove to be a bit too much for Springville on this day, however. Arab would get the win 56-30 over the Tigers, ending their season.
Arab suffocated the Tigers on the defensive side of the ball throughout the game, but the first quarter was the most dominant for them. The Knights held Springville to just 4 points in the period. Arab would put up 15 points to put the Tigers into an 11-point hole that they never quite dug out of.
Springville found some rhythm on offense in the second, managing to get into double digits with 11 points, giving them some momentum heading into the locker room at half. Arab would still outscore them, putting up 13 of their own, heading into the break with a 28-15 lead over Springville.
The third would be close, but Arab would still outscore Springville in the quarter, scoring 11 points to the Tigers’ 8 and building a 39-23 lead heading into the final quarter of the game.
The fourth quarter would not only be the final quarter of the game, but it would be the final quarter for the Springville Lady Tigers for the 2022-2023 season. Arab would outscore them 17-7, making the final score 56-30 with Arab coming out on top.
For the game, no Tigers scored in double digits as Arab did a great job of containing them on defense. Olivia Carroll would lead Springville with 6 points in the game, followed by Georgia Cancellor, Ava Vaughn and Bella Bullington, who all had 4 points each.
Springville coach Warren House said of the game, “Arab’s length bothered us. We shot a season-low 20%. Since we are a pressing team, we couldn’t get into their press after scoring.”
Speaking on his team’s 20-12 season, House said, “It was a great season for the girls. They accomplished so much during the season. We had some ups and downs but we always seemed to rebound and get back on track when things were not going well.”